I totally get that this film could be seen as ableist in casting Jacob Tremblay as a boy with facial disfigurement, using prosthetics to fashion a mask that an actual disabled actor wouldn’t need. Obviously, […]
Logan (Mangold, 2017)
If I had a special connection to the X-Men franchise, and if Wolverine had been one of my all-time favourite characters, I would’ve appreciated this far more. This whole setup feels like the culmination of a grand […]
Game Night (Daley & Goldstein, 2018)
There is not much originality in Game Night. It quickly devolves into a bunch of dupes running around like chickens with their heads cut off, caught up in a kidnapping plot that they initially believe is […]
Ferdinand (Saldanha, 2017)
Ferdinand is a difficult film to dislike, what with its sympathetic hero and the colourful characters supporting his journey. I quite like its firm stance against the barbaric spectacle of bullfighting, and if you dig […]
Annihilation (Garland, 2018)
Will 2018 give us another film as strange, mesmerizing and uncompromisingly cerebral as Annihilation? As I sit here writing this, I am inclined to say no. I’m sure there will be films I’ll like better, and […]
Aquarius (Mendonça Filho, 2016)
There’s an impressive amount of strength that Sônia Braga carries while she’s acting. From one look or movement, she has the ability to arrest you on the spot. You do not mess with her. You […]
Red Sparrow (Lawrence, 2018)
I don’t have much to say about Red Sparrow, so I’ll keep this review fairly short. With Russia being in the news so often now, a film like this was bound to come along eventually: one […]
A Wrinkle in Time (DuVernay, 2018)
I’m afraid I have to agree with the consensus here: A Wrinkle in Time isn’t very good. Mostly because it’s a mature film trapped in a Disneyfied body, needing to take flight but barely getting off the […]
Ordeal by Innocence (Goldbacher, 2018)
Of the three Sarah Phelps adaptations of Christie’s work thus far, this one is by far the most radical. In the others, she kept much of Christie’s plotting intact, and instead added her own modern […]
Indian Horse (Campanelli, 2017)
Stories like the one told in Indian Horse demand greater representation. The colonial injustices against the Indigenous peoples of Canada, like the abuse they suffered in residential schools for over a century, are a national shame that […]
The Party (Potter, 2017)
I think, with a little more time and a few more twists, The Party could’ve come together as a truly splendid chamber farce. The cast is there. Sally Potter is one of Britain’s more underrated filmmakers working […]
Isle of Dogs (Anderson, 2018)
It’s hard to articulate just why Isle of Dogs came up short for me. The backlash regarding the translation/non-translation dynamic of the Japanese dialogue is worth contemplating, though since this is a polemic from the eyes of Othered victims, […]
Dawson City: Frozen Time (Morrison, 2016)
I learned a lot about Dawson City, Yukon while watching this. Heck, it was like a free history lesson. So many tidbits about the Gold Rush, the social life of its residents, and the population […]
Life of the Party (Falcone, 2018)
It’s too bad Melissa McCarthy is caught up in the stale comedy machine, churning out these kinds of predictable crowdpleasers instead of hunkering down and doing something really special. She’s a big enough name now […]
Thoroughbreds (Finley, 2017)
Like a two-day-old helium balloon, you can see Thoroughbreds slowly deflating with each passing act. It begins promisingly enough, centering on the affectless Amanda (a fantastic Olivia Cooke) as she rekindles her relationship with childhood friend Lily […]
